Cosmetic Surgery Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cosmetic Surgery, including details on microsurgery, reconstruction, techniques, risks.

Virtual 3-dimensional modeling as a valuable adjunct to aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery.

Tepper OM, Small K, Rudolph L, Choi M, Karp N

Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, New York University Medical Center, 530 First Ave., Suite 8Y, New York, NY 10016, USA. oren.tepper@med.nyu.edu

Three-dimensional (3D) imaging technology currently is used by various commercial industries as a method for analyzing objects and shapes. Recent work from our group and others offer data to support the use of 3D imaging as a valuable tool in aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery. We have developed a system for creating 3D breast models that provides clinical data that can help guide surgical management. With 3D breast models, surgeons are able to visually assess the size, shape, contour, and symmetry of the breast, as well as obtain quantitative breast measurements and volumetric calculations. Three-dimensional imaging may be applied to various plastic surgery procedures including breast reconstruction with implant/tissue expanders, local flap reconstruction, free-flap reconstruction, breast augmentation, and breast reduction surgery. The novel application of 3D imaging in these settings represents a significant advance from traditional approaches to aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery in which surgical procedures are based on 2-dimensional photographs and visual size estimates.

Published 18 September 2006 in Am J Surg, 192(4): 548-51.
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